Toilet Paper and the Human Intellect
Rodin's The Thinker [...]
The Ultimate Ethnic Joke
We’ve all heard enough ethnic jokes to know that they can be hurtful because they are usually based on stereotypes—that [...]
Making Lent Meaningful
Lent is a time for deepening our faith and growing closer to God. Traditionally, for Catholics and many other Christians, [...]
Tribute to “The Little Poor One,” St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi, Stained Glass Window. Slovenia Many have believed that St. Francis of Assisi lived [...]
Memo to Those Who Still Hate Trump
A friend recently said that she didn’t vote for Donald Trump in 2016 because of the offensive statements he had [...]
The Media Are Ignoring This Book
The only way to cast an informed vote for political candidates is to become familiar with their qualifications for office. [...]
Renewing Catholic Respect for Reason
Rodin's The Thinker I recently noted that though the Catholic Church was once Reason’s greatest champion, in recent [...]
Footnote to the Impeachment Effort
Two fundamental errors in logic have been evident in the movement to drive President Trump from office. One is the [...]
The Mother of All Sins
Théodore Géricault, Portrait of Envious Woman It is often said that the father of all sins is [...]
The Catholic View of Faith and Reason
For centuries many people have considered faith and reason mutually exclusive rather than complementary. This notion has led many non-religious [...]
The Communion of Saints
The phrase “the Communion of Saints” is very familiar to Catholics, especially older ones, because it is in the Apostles’ [...]
On Remaining Catholic
A few mornings ago, while enjoying my morning swim, I noticed a small bird sitting atop a tall palm tree. [...]
The Catholic Church and Women
For Catholics, as well as Jews and other Christians, the story of man’s relationship with woman begins in the Book [...]
The Greatest Human Fault
What is the greatest human fault? I believe it is self-deception, which causes or enables virtually all other faults. In addition [...]
The Path of the Wandering Calf
Many years ago, when I was a college professor, I came across a poem by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911) that [...]
Denying Communion to Joe Biden, Part 3
The Cushing principle discussed in Part 1 and Part 2 of this essay—that expressing one’s beliefs in the public square [...]
Denying Communion to Joe Biden, Part 2
Richard Cardinal Cushing Part 1 of this essay argued that the denial of communion to Joe Biden was [...]
Denying Communion to Joe Biden
In the midst of his campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination, former Vice-President Joe Biden was denied Holy Communion by [...]
The Cost of Denying Conscience
For millennia the concept of conscience was prominent in virtually every religious and secular ethical system, though interpretations of its [...]
Does Prayer Really Matter?
The subject of the homily in a Church near my own parish was prayer. The homilist declared that praying for [...]
The Power of Small Deeds
St. Teresa of Calcutta reportedly said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things [...]
America Unhinged
The level of incivility and animosity in America today gives ample cause to wonder whether our society has become unhinged. [...]
The Nearsighted Shepherd, Part 3
A Guide to Improving Shepherding Part 1 showed how the Bishops’ championing of Muslim migration and support of the foes of American democracy [...]
The Nearsighted Shepherd, Part 2
Part I of this essay introduced the fable of the Nearsighted Shepherd and likened his situation to that of the [...]
The Nearsighted Shepherd
A Cautionary Fable Once upon a time, there was a nearsighted shepherd who mistook another flock for his own and [...]
Author Vincent Ryan Ruggiero
Since retiring from teaching, I have continued my work in promoting sound thinking in education and in the general culture. More specifically, I have kept refining my textbooks, four of which have been continuously in print for an average of 33 years. I have also continued to write books for the general public, the latest of which is Corrupted Culture: Rediscovering America’s Enduring Principles, Values, and Common Sense, and I write a weekly column for an online journal.